La regla de do-support en inglés: una perspectiva funcional

Abstract

This article discusses the use of auxiliary do in modern English from a functional perspective. The linguistic framework employed is Simon C. Dik's Functional Grammar, a grammatical theory which seeks to explain linguistic phenomena on the basis of the functions that elements fulfil in the clause. Unlike other auxiliary verbs, do is considered an element with no semantic import that contributes syntactically to the construction of different types of clauses. Following the lines suggested by Dik in several studies on the use of be in English, a rule for the insertion of do is proposed which accounts for the inclusion of this auxiliary in the required contexts. The formal apparatus of the theory is proved to be efficient to account for the peculiar nature of this element; in Functional Grammar supportive operators are inserted in the clause by means of a special type of expression rule which formally distinguishes these elements from other auxiliaries.